Chapter 192: A Lover's Head (2)

How a professor of Western medicine had gotten involved with Miaojiang Gu poison was a mystery I couldn't unravel. Now, listening to Liu Xuan recount the past, I finally understood the hidden truth.

"That corpse was completely ordinary—so much so that I didn't even look at his face when preparing the specimen. Dissection, dehydration, fixation. I used tweezers and a Scalpel to cut away the easily decomposable fat, then injected a twenty-percent formalin solution."

"The whole process went very smoothly. I didn't have classes that day, so I spent the entire day processing the corpse."

"It grew dark out, and the specimen preparation was nearing its end. When night completely fell, I suddenly noticed the corpse had opened its eyes."

"Postmortem reactions are perfectly normal to me. Muscle twitches during dissection, internal organs congealing and rupturing—I had encountered all of that before. But a corpse opening its eyes was a first."

Liu Xuan's steady tone made it sound as though she were recounting some trivial matter, but as her listener, I broke out in a cold sweat. "And then? How did you discover the white thread?"

"The corpse opening its eyes made me curious. Even though I was the only person in the dissection room at the time, I wasn't afraid."

"I carefully observed the corpse's eyeballs and noticed the pupils were dilated. It looked as if something inside the skull was trying to burrow out."

"Without overthinking it, I used my Scalpel to gouge out the corpse's eye. Then, I saw a pure white thread crawl out of the empty socket."

"It was already late in the night. I figured the white thread was just a common parasite and thought nothing of it. I sealed it in a vacuum bag and placed it into the cold storage room along with the cadaver specimen."

"To my complete surprise, when I entered the lab the next day, the corpse had actually broken out on its own. Chemical fluids and shattered instruments were scattered all over the floor. At first, I thought someone had broken in. It wasn't until I staked the place out for several days that I discovered the truth."

"In the dead of night, when it was too dark to see, that specimen would 'return from the dead.' I didn't tell a soul. After repeated research and experiments, I finally discovered the connection between the fine white thread and the corpse." As she spoke, a bright gleam surfaced in Liu Xuan's eyes. Much time had passed, but she still hadn't forgotten the thrill she felt back then.

"This fine white thread can replace human nerves to manipulate the limbs. Do you know what that means?"

I found it hard to relate to Liu Xuan's mood, but to keep her talking, I humored her. "What does it mean?"

Liu Xuan touched the cut the Scalpel had left on her neck. "It means that even if the physical body shuts down, as long as the consciousness remains, a person can continue to live."

"Through this thing, I saw a way to extend Bai Wang's life. I scoured all kinds of materials and collected everything related to the white thread. Later, I learned from a wandering monk that the thread is called a Thread-Pulling Gu, an exclusive Gu technique from the White Miao Yunwa Village."

"To acquire more Thread-Pulling Gu for my experiments, I drained my family's fortune. I even committed many unconscionable acts. But once my experiment succeeds, it won't just be Bai Wang—the entire world will change."

Liu Xuan's tone gradually grew manic. I could picture exactly how she must have looked back then—like a drowning woman clutching at her final straw, pouring in all her strength, refusing to let go. But how could a mere straw bear the weight of a human life?

"Did the experiment succeed?" Seeing her expression, I couldn't contain my curiosity.

She didn't answer immediately, only letting out a bitter laugh. "Five years. I've tried every possible method, but I've never once succeeded."

"Five years?" I flicked the tip of the blade. "So you were behind the lockdown of the West Campus five years ago? You were the one who controlled the corpse to kill the Security Guard back then?"

"That was just an accident. I had just discovered the Thread-Pulling Gu five years ago and didn't know how to manipulate it yet. The cadaver escaped the Laboratory Building and was spotted by a Security Guard. My sprout of hope had yet to fully bloom; how could I let it be crushed so easily? So, he had to die."

"The West Campus gets locked down, ensuring no one would interfere with your experiments. Killing two birds with one stone. That was a brilliant move." Liu Xuan's indifferent tone gave me an ominous premonition, though I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong. "And what about Zhang Jiaqi? Why would she help you? I doubt the relationship between you two is a simple matter of teacher and student."

"Jiaqi suffers from sleepwalking. If she experiences an intense shock during the day, the scene permanently engraves itself in her mind, and once she falls asleep, she wanders around guided by that memory. She accidentally stumbled upon my secret. I didn't want to hurt her, and since her grandmother was critically ill in the hospital—unlikely to survive the winter—she was desperate to save her. So, we struck a deal. She assisted me with the surgeries, and I promised to save her grandmother once I succeeded. Jiaqi's grades in surgical dissection skyrocketed during that period simply because she spent every night practicing with me in the lab."

Aside from Zhang Jiaqi, the only other living person I'd encountered in the West Campus was the little boy who had indirectly helped me. "And where did the little boy who kept crying about the red tongue come from?"

"When my husband's condition was at its worst, I had to set aside my work and stay by his side constantly. To avoid halting my research, I had to cultivate the Thread-Pulling Gu in my own home, experimenting on stolen cats and dogs."

"But cats and dogs are simply too different from humans, and my husband was running out of time. So, I abducted the young boy to conduct human trials." A hint of softness flickered in Liu Xuan's eyes. "I had already injected the anesthesia. But as I stood beside him holding my Scalpel, I hesitated. Bai Wang and I had never had children. Looking at that little boy's face, I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

She turned to look at me again. "I don't believe in karma or reincarnation, but the people I killed deserved to die. That includes those Security Guards. It was their ever-growing greed that ultimately led to their demise."

"Deserved to die? You're just a doctor. You aren't the Grim Reaper." I had patiently listened to her entire story as one dark secret after another spilled from her lips.

The more I learned, the more this woman terrified me. For five whole years, she had managed to deceive everyone, including her own husband.

I had my Scalpel pressed against her fragile neck. I should have ended this mad, twisted woman's life with a single slash, but for some inexplicable reason, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"There is still an hour until dawn. If you aren't going to kill me, could you give me one chance?" Liu Xuan's cold voice was devoid of any superfluous emotion, conveying her intentions as directly as a lifeless puppet.

"You want me to let you go?" I tightened my grip on the handle, staring into her face.

"No, I just want to try one last time. Bai Wang's corpse has grown incredibly fragile from the multiple organ replacements. He can't endure much more. That's why I want to make one final attempt. If I still can't awaken him this time..."

Liu Xuan slowly clenched her fists, her expression remaining eerily calm. Her agony was like an abyssal trench hidden beneath the ocean's surface—deep and completely imperceptible. "I will give up."

Saying those few words seemed to drain her of all her strength. She looked at me, her voice as cold and clear as it had been when we first met.

I didn't know whether I should take the risk and grant her this chance. After mulling it over for a moment, I let go of her and backed away to the door, still holding my Scalpel.

"You agree?"

"I hope you succeed this time."

Liu Xuan froze for a moment before offering a faint smile.

She nodded, turned around, and switched on the surgical lights. She booted up all the medical equipment, changed into a fresh sterile gown, and commenced the final surgery of her life.

I quietly watched Liu Xuan's movements as Zhang Jiaqi's ringtone echoed in my mind. It was that symphony titled 'Resurrection'—an eccentric piece that evoked the image of a freezing traveler trudging through a bitter blizzard, a burning heart clutched to their chest as they made their way home.

On the operating table, Liu Xuan peeled away the fine threads clinging to Bai Wang's scalp and meticulously sliced his skull open.

It seemed that in the areas requiring a soul, she didn't even dare to use her Scalpel, instead allowing the Thread-Pulling Gu to burrow deep inside.

"Bai Wang... do you still remember who I am?"

Half an hour later, the blue line on the EKG monitor representing blood oxygen saturation fluctuated. Immediately after, the green line tracking his heart rate spiked.

"Can the dead actually return to life?!" I stared with wide eyes at Liu Xuan. She had cut her own body open multiple times during the procedure. The Thread-Pulling Gu acted as a lifeline, completely tethering the two of them together.